Learn to Let Go
by Quiet Artifact
Summary: Taking place after The Promise and The Search, Sokka and Suki stay with the rest of the Kyoshi warriors in the Fire Nation capital to guard Fire Lord Zuko. As they grow ever closer to their destiny together, Zuko must learn to let go of the past and move on, for the sake of his rule. Suki/Sokka and Zuko/? Rated T for action, no foul language or sex. Staying true to the world.
1. Chapter 1

**_Well hey guys! Here I am...writing a story based on Avatar: The Last Airbender. Crazy, I never in a million years expected to be doing this. I've got a Spiderman story in progress as well, and both of these will be updated as I can get to them. But anyways, a little info before we get started...I like semi canonical stuff. I'm not a fan of all the Zuttara, Aang/Toph, Katara/Suki stuff out there, to me it's weird. So I decided to write a story that takes place after all the comics, before Republic City is founded, based around Sokka and Suki, and Zuko in the Fire Nation. Ty Lee and the Kyoshi girls will also be involved in the coming chapters! So I'm going to shut up now and let my writing do the rest...stay flamin'!_**

* * *

_It's been over two years since the war ended…since the Yu Dao crisis….since Zuko found his mother._

_All of that seemed a blur now. Suki and the Kyoshi warriors had spent the better part of a year guarding Fire Lord Zuko's palace from the constant threat of assassination. Of course, who would be better? Sokka didn't mind living in the Fire Nation capital. It was no longer the place of fear and destruction it was under Ozai's reign, but a center of trade, knowledge, and most of all, peace. _

* * *

"Aw come on Suki, the play wasn't THAT bad!" Sokka had just taken Suki to see "The Boy in the Iceberg: The Real Story", put on by the visiting Ember Island Players. The first time around was bad enough, but at least this time they didn't make Aang a girl.

Suki couldn't help but laugh. "Sokka, I love you, but that was almost as bad as the first one." She grabbed his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked. "At least they put me in for more than five minutes though" She quietly murmured under her breath. The first version they had killed her off during her fight against Azula, of course in the most Fire Nation-y way possible. She noticed Zuko had caught up to them. Being Fire Lord and all, it wasn't too often that he could get away from his royal escort long enough to have a normal conversation, and quite literally, let his hair down. But every once and a while, he had managed to slip away and attend the play with his friends. They were, after all, the closest friends he had in the Fire Nation.

Putting his hood up so no one would recognize him, Zuko had to agree with Suki. "It was...pretty terrible. Almost as awful as _Love Amongst the Dragons _to be honest."

Sokka shrugged. "Hey, I'm just sayin', that actor can play me in any production, as long as he makes enough meat jokes and sarcastic remarks, I'm good!"

For the first time in a while, Zuko smiled. "At least they put the scar on the right side this time. I mean, how hard is it to just switch sides?"

As they walked down the streets of the capital toward Sokka and Suki's apartment, a certain smell caught Sokka's attention. He stopped, putting an arm out to stop Suki as well. "Wait a second," He formed a puzzled look, his thinking face. Suddenly he knew what it was, pointing towards the stand with a bright look in his eyes he yelled "Fire flakes! Oh oh oh! Suki can we-"

"I dunno Sokka, it's late and..." His jumping up and down like a child was too much, she couldn't say no, especially to him. "Oh fine, just one package though!" She pulled two Yuans out of the pocket on the inside of her deceptively simple robes and tossed it to him and Sokka ran towards the food stand, leaving her and Zuko to wait for him.

Looking out into the night sky, Zuko was amazed that all this was his. His home, was now his capital. His own kingdom. Somehow, the universe had decided that he was the right one to lead it. Through everything Team Avatar, (Yes, he finally gave in), and the world, had been through, it was his time to help Aang bring balance to the world. Alone. Aang had Katara, Sokka had Suki, and even Toph was quite in demand as she got older. After Mai had left him and disappeared, he had no one. Of course, he had Sokka and the Kyoshi girls, but no one to _be with_, to _love._ She must have noticed his stoic look, the same look he had always seemed to carry even after the war.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine tonight." She reassured him.

Zuko snapped out of his thought and looked toward her. "What? No, it's not that. It's...other things."

Suki always caught on quickly. "You know...Ty Lee is personally guarding your chambers tonight."

He looked at her with a puzzled face, even though he knew exactly where this conversation was headed, he asked anyway. "Uh...where's this going?"

"Well, you know, she may...or may not...have a teeny...tiny...little...crush on you!" She prepared for the worst, Zuko wasn't exactly known around the four nations for his calm demeanor.

He simply looked at her, his mouth curled into a tiny smile. He had known Ty Lee had liked him for years, even through everything they had been through. She helped Azula hunt him and Aang, and even after he returned home, there were times he couldn't stand to be around her super happy Ty Lee craziness so much. But there was something about her, something happy...something real. "Hm. Maybe I'll give it a shot, who knows?"

As Sokka came bouncing back to the duo, stuffing fire flakes in his mouth by the handful, the conversation was over for the time being. Suki was busy telling her boyfriend to slow down before he choked, which of course ended up happening.

*Cough* Su-ki *cough* I think- *cough* aggh! He bent over coughing like a plague victim, with Suki hunched over trying to unclog his windpipe. Eventually the food came back up and Sokka could breathe again, at which point Suki berated him like a mother for eating too fast.

* * *

After arriving at their apartment, Sokka and Suki bid goodnight to Zuko as he walked back his palace, taking every side street he could to avoid being seen. As he walked though the darkened streets of the capital city, the stalls began to close, the lanterns were blown out, the sounds of people talking and shuffling through the streets were replaced by doors closing and windows shutting. The city had fallen asleep. It was at these times of night that Zuko would always visit Mai, refusing to take the palanquin and instead walking the 30 yard distance from the palace gates to her home. Before he knew it, once again he was stopped in front of her home. It had been so long since she had left. He loved her, and she loved him, but the early pressures of ruling became too much for her, and she broke his heart when he needed her most. It wasn't long after that day that she left the capital, and he hadn't heard from her since. He missed her so much. "Mai..." he quietly whispered to himself as he silently put his hand to the door of her former home. "...I'm...so sorry." He quickly turned and walked back to the palace.

* * *

As soon as Zuko had left, Sokka and Suki had fallen victim to the night air. They spent the night on the balcony of their apartment, high above most of the capital houses, no one had a vantage point on them except from the palace. After setting up blankets and a few pillows, Sokka soon fell into a dead sleep with Suki tucked in his arms. To her, it was the safest place in the world. Growing up as a warrior, and eventually becoming a leader in the Kyoshi warriors, Suki had learned to stay alert and sleep with one eye open and her weapons within reach. But with Sokka, she never had to. She always felt at peace in his embrace. Looking up at the moon, she was reminded of the last barrier between them and the rest of their lives together. Yue.

She couldn't sleep, not now anyway. As Sokka began to snore, and loudly at that, Suki wriggled free of his arms and sat up on the balcony, her eyes trained on the moon. "Yue...if you can hear me...please help him let go. I...I can't bear life without him. I need him, and he needs me, but...but he has to be free of you first." Suki felt her eyes welling up with tears. "I'm sorry, I'm a horrible person. I, I can't imagine what you both went through together. It's not my place to ask you to give that up." She didn't mean it. She wanted Sokka to be free of Yue's grasp, to have him all to herself forever, to raise a family with him and help shape even more lives. She didn't want anyone else but Sokka.

Wiping her eyes, Suki laid back down next to Sokka, this time wrapping her arms around him. pulled his hair out his warrior wolf tail and leaned over to kiss his cheek, barely waking him up.

"Su...kiiiiiiiiiii" He snored the last syllable of her name as he fell back into his sleep. There was no waking him up for hours, no matter what happened. She was content to stay there with him until morning.

* * *

_**Well, what did you guys think? It's the first chapter, which always needs work. I always hate the first chapter solely because I have to find my footing in the story and where I want to take these characters, but I think I have a good idea in my head now. Anyways, I just decided to write this because I always have a very specific image in mind of how these characters (Sokka, Suki, and Zuko) act and interact with each other, and I feel like the best way to get my ideas out there is just to write the stories I want to read. I hope some of you guys are likeminded in this, and I hope the community for Avatar is still going strong! Please review and let me know what you all think! **_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Good evening everyone! So here's chapter 2...it's a bit longer than the first one, so I hope it helps a bit. This one sets the stage a bit for Zuko's and Ty Lee's plots as well, as they're 2 of the four main characters in this. Aang and Katara will make an appearance eventually, along with Toph. For now though, I hope you enjoy what I've written so far! _**

* * *

_The next morning…._

The day had already started off badly for Sokka. Normally, there was no waking him up until at least part of the way through the morning, but today it was different, he was up with the sun. "Aww come on brain!" He whispered to himself as he palmed his forehead. "Go back to sleep, I'm not ready yet." But it was too late, he was up. Finally he succumbed to the fact and pulled himself out from underneath Suki, who had flopped on top of him as they had slept. Sokka walked inside from the balcony to the water basin in the corner of the front room. Washing his face and pulling his hair back in his wolf tail, he grabbed his sword and decided to take a walk. He left a small note for Suki and laid it next to her. He grabbed space sword and headed out onto the streets.

It was barely morning, and people were already out. Fathers and their sons setting up their fruit stands, mothers pushing their children out the door for school, and shoppers lined the bustling capital street. Sokka turned onto the main street that followed the length of the city from its gates to the Fire Lord's Palace. He couldn't believe it, only a couple of years before, he had walked down this street as a conqueror, leading the invasion force, _his_ invasion force, almost to the palace itself, before they were forced to retreat. But that seemed like a bygone era now, so much had happened and changed since then that it was nothing more than a distant memory.

"Well hey there cutie!" Sokka heard a voice from behind addressing him. He knew that perky, girlish voice anywhere…Ty Lee. "Ty...huh?" He turned to greet his friend, but she was no longer there. Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder. This time she definitely caught him off guard, with a yelp he jumped higher than a rabbaroo, and of course he didn't stick the landing and fell flat on his butt.

"I'm right here, silly!" Ty Lee offered Sokka a hand and pulled him to his feet. "Sheesh, all you boys are so easy to fool."

"I am _not_ easy to fool!" Sokka defended his honor. "I knew you were there the whole time!"

Ty Lee put her hands on her hips and stared at him. "So you knew I was there, why did you jump and scream like a girl?"

Sokka hated admitting when he was wrong. "I did NOT scream like a girl!"

"Whatever you say!" Ty Lee shrugged. "Can I walk with you? It's been forever since we've hung out, and being at the palace all night gets boring, so I figured I'd take a break."

"Sure, I was just taking a walk anyway before Suki got up." Sokka casually put his hands behind his head, trying to regain is cool.

A big smile crossed Ty Lee's face. "Super! So how do you like living in the capital?"

"I can't complain, ever since Zuko became Fire Lord, it's become a pretty awesome place. Full of light and happiness, and the natural beauty just adds to it all."

"Totally! I'm so happy to be back home, and with the girls, too!" She really was excited. Growing up in a family with 5 other girls that all looked exactly the same meant that she never felt unique, and after joining a Fire Nation circus and finally achieving her goal, she effectively became part of a matched set again, and she couldn't have been happier. She had finally found a set that she belonged in.

Sokka decided to turn the conversation in a different direction. "So…." He scratched the back of his head, the tell tale sign of his nervousness. "So Zuko's pretty hot right?" Immediately after the words left his lips, he regretted them.

Ty Lee stopped for moment and turned to him. He could see her blushing even through her warrior make up. "What? Zuko? I mean, I guess" She couldn't believe what she was saying. "I mean, no, he's not really my-" She tried to take back what she had said, but she realized it was true. There was no denying that she had liked Zuko for a long time, especially after Mai had disappeared. Ty Lee remembered the day when Suki had announced they would be travelling to the Fire Nation capital city as the Fire Lord's guards.

* * *

_Kyoshi Island….101 AG…_

_"Alright girls, listen up!" Suki had gathered all her Kyoshi warriors in their barracks for a special meeting. It was on short notice, so it must have been a last minute change in plans. "I just received a messenger hawk from the Fire Nation, multiple assassination attempts on the life of Fire Lord Zuko have occured, and he's decided to call in a little….extra help."_

_Ty Lee was ecstatic. It had been months since the end of the war and Azula and Ozai's imprisonment. Zuko had become Fire Lord and Mai had stayed with him, they had all gone their separate ways. During the last weeks of the war, Ty Lee had been imprisoned for her betrayal of Azula. In prison she had met the rest of the Kyoshi girls, minus Suki, and immediately they bonded. She gave them a few chi blocking lessons and they taught her her a few moves of their own before allowing her to join the group after their release. She knew right away this was where she belonged._

_After coming back from her thoughts, Ty Lee spoke up. "Um, how long will we be in the capital?"_

_Suki's eyes narrowed with resolve. "As long as it takes for these attempts to stop."_

* * *

But they hadn't, even after the Yu Dao solution and Zuko and Aang's constant peace meetings, the assassination attempts never seemed to end. At least twice a month someone tried to sneak into the palace or ambush him on trips outside the city. Part of her was still scared for Zuko, and part of her was so happy that she had been able to stay close to him for so long.

As her memories faded from view, Ty Lee remembered where she was. Sokka was waving his hands in front of her face incessantly.

"Uhhhh hello? Anyone in there?"

"What? Oh, sorry Sokka, my mind just wandered I guess." She smiled, trying to hide her once again blushing face, to no avail. Sokka knew, there was no doubt about it.

They soon had reached the gates of Zuko's palace again. The large walls towered over them, while the tower itself practically blocked out the sun. Sokka noted that while the Earth King's palace was most definitely impressive, the Fire Nation palace was a feat of engineering that he couldn't help but fall in love with.

"Listen," Ty Lee turned to him. "I've gotta get back in there, but don't you guys have a meeting later today?"

Sokka nodded. "Yeah, we do. We're making plans to move some of the Earth Kingdom refugees into colonies Zuko had built here in the Fire Nation over the last few months. It sounds good on paper..." He shrugged. "But we'll see how it goes."

Ty Lee gave him a warm hug. "Well then Ill see you later, and Suki too!" And with that, proceeded to walk on her hands back through the palace gates.

* * *

As Zuko slept, his dreams shifted and his memories of Ember Island returned...

_"For so long now I thought if my dad accepted me, I'd be happy. I'm back home now, my dad talks to me. Ha, he even thinks I'm a hero! Everything should be perfect, right? I should be happy now, but I'm not! I'm angrier than ever and I don't know why!" _

_Azula's eyes were trained on him. "There's a simple question you need to answer, then. Who are you angry at?"_

_"No one. I'm just... angry." Zuko shook his head. _

_Mai joined in. "Yeah, who are you angry at, Zuko?"  
_

_It was becoming too much "Everyone! I don't know!" They all wanted to know who he was angry at, and why, but they wouldn't understand. _

_"Is it Dad?"_

_"No, no."_

_"Your uncle?" Ty Lee suggested._

_"Me?"_

_He was being pushed too far. "No! No, no, no!"_

_Even Mai was pushing him for an answer. "Then who? Who are you angry at?"_

_He'd had enough. "I'M ANGRY AT MYSELF!" He screamed, causing the small fire in the middle to flare brightly, ending the dream.  
_

* * *

Zuko jumped out of bed in a sweat. He couldn't imagine why he was remembering his time on Ember Island with Azula and Mai and Ty Lee. It was so long ago, such a lost time. After calming down, he quickly put it out of his thoughts. He pulled on an ornate red and gold robe that was laying on the bench near the window, and decided to check with his guards. He peeked his head out of the door, only to shake his head in shame. Ty Lee was hand walking on the balcony railing while two of the younger girls, Lin and Han, were sitting in the corner giggling at him, probably because of his bare chest.

_"Girls" _He sighed to himself as he waited for Ty Lee to notice him.

"See girls? It's really simple! All you have to do is-" Ty Lee stopped mid sentence. She thought, _"How long has he been standing there?" _

_"_I see you girls are hard at work, I really feel safe!" Zuko quipped. He was only half joking, he really did feel safe with them around.

"Sorry Zuko, I guess we just got a little bored." Ty Lee tried to explain herself, but he put up a hand to stop her.

"It's fine, really. All quiet this morning I take it?"

Ty Lee nodded.

"Good, I've got a meeting with the generals and Sokka later this afternoon, don't forget, I'll need you and Suki there."

"Oh it'll be wonderful! Don't worry, I'll be there Zuko!" She assured him.

Zuko retreated back into his room, shutting the door. Walking over to his window, he slid the curtains open to view the city. The perfect view he had of the sea in between the twin peaks of the volcano's entrance was perfect, especially when the sunrise came up in the early morning, and passed right between the points, it was almost like a mural. His thoughts soon drifted far from the scenery of his city, to his other troubles. He thought of Ty Lee. She always had that large smile on her face, always happy to see him, to hear his voice, even when things went wrong, she was optimistic. It was nice a good balance between them both, he was one end of the chi spectrum, and she was the other. They fit perfectly, it seemed. _"No."_ Zuko hung his head in sadness. "I can't deal with this right now. I have over a thousand angry Earth Kingdom citizens that need homes." He berated himself for his own thoughts. "Ha, I don't even know if this is gonna work. Nothing ever seems to go according to plan with me. With my luck, they still don't trust me, and all this money I've spent, all the villages we've built, will go to waste."

He looked back out the window, down to the bustling city streets below the palace. He thought of Sokka, and Suki, who had helped him come up with the plan in the first place. Aang and Katara had even been working with Earth King Kuei in Ba Sing Se to garner his support, without which the plan wouldn't even be possible. "Dad would say it's just another screw up...But he's gone." Looking back at the sky, towards the sun, the source of his power as a firebender, with fists clenched he vowed to himself. "This _will _work. Peace will come. I promise you Uncle."

* * *

_**So...no Suki in this chapter, I know. I figured it would be best to have a little more Zuko/Ty Lee development going on. Don't worry, she'll come back in the next chapter! I know I don't even have to ask, because everyone always does, but please let me know what you all think! I'm two chapters in, but I love hearing from people. Constructive criticism is always welcomed!**_


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